Friday, March 13, 2009

I have to point out a few things that made yesterday so special for me. First off, won my first blog giveaway held by Shauna. And I received this...

It's a lavender bath set and I can't wait to use it and when I opened the package boy did it smell good, haha. Thank you sooo much Shauna. She just celebrated her100th post and so she's been doing a giveaway every day this week, so today is her last day. Go over to her blog, you won't want to miss it!

Then I also received these sweet cards from Whitney and Kelsey . Please go by their blogs, they are two precious people with two GREAT blogs!!

Thank you so much Whitney and Kelsey for putting a smile on my face and making my day all the much sweeter!

As I said, every Friday I'm going to be sharing my questions and answers for the week out of my Lady in Waiting book. The chapter was on the Lady of Diligence. So here you have it for this week:

JEALOUS JENNY: Do you focus on the gifts others have been given, and therefore never give your own niche in ministry? Have you unwisely compared yourself to other women? (1 Cor. 4:7;12:7; Rom. 12:3)

There have been many, many times I have compared myself to other women, and in doing that, it's only left me feeling really bad in the end. It's okay to want to strive to aquire the attributes you see in other women that you admire, but when you start comparing so much that it leads to jealousy, you get absolutely nothing done for the kingdom and in the ministry. We are uniquely, fearfully, and wonderfully made. And the sooner we realize that, the better off we are.

PRIMA DONNA PAULA: Do you want to serve God on your terms? Do you want to write the script and have the leading role? (Jn 4:34; 7:16, 18; Mt. 23:5)

I kind of touched on this last week. There has most definitely been those times where my relationship with God was based on my terms and at my convenience and it's so easy when it's comfortable for us, to sit back and say okay God, I'll let you have it. But when we get too uncomfortable and we can't handle it, we take back the reigns and try to shift everything to our liking and to what makes us comfortable. We're talking about the creator of the heavens and earth, do you really think he needs our help in creating and directing our life story??? Something to ponder there.

FEARFUL FRANCES: Do you fear what others think? Are you afraid of becoming too involved and being labeled a fanatic? Do you hesistate to be a Lady of Diligence because you feel so inadequate? (Prov. 29:25; 2 Tim. 1:7; 1 Thess. 5:24)

Better question is, who at one time or another hasn't feared what someone else might think? I will say that I don't think I've ever been afraid to get too involved and being labeled a fanatic. But have I ever felt inadequate, most certainly, YES. There have been moments that I felt someone had something to give that I just couldn't offer, and that could be very true, but when you start to look at that not as a bad thing, but in such a way that you start to realize that everyone has something different to bring to the body of Christ and the ministry, and when we bring all those qualities together, we can rock the devil's world. It's a process to get to this point and we all want to be a Lady of Diligence, and the journey to getting there is well worth it.

DOUBTING DORIS: Faith is believing what God says about you. Do you long to become more involved in a number of ministries, but feel your faith with fizzle before you finish? Have you struggled with serving the Lord in the past, so you doubt yourself today? (Part of ministry is learning, so don't let yesterday's struggles prevent future successes.) (1 Jn. 4:4; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Tim. 6:12)

No, I just long to belong to ministries, period. We belonged to a church for a number of years and stopped attending back in 2005 and we were out of church for a little while and when we knew it was time to step back in again we church hopped for awhile and still struggling to find that church I'm really connected with. With my schedule, it's soooo hard to really get involved and I know that's no excuse but if it's really my hearts desire, God will make it happen and know this is only for a certain season. So I'm definitely still seeking that opportunity to really become involved with ministry, and know God will meet me right where I'm at. I know this doesn't really answer the question directly, but this is kind of where I'm at right now as far as ministry is concerned.

To get involved with any ministry demands a sacrifice. Have you allowed your self-centeredness to dominate your daily schedule? Why not go through your checkbook and see how many checks were written for things concerning others? (2 Sam. 24:24; Phil 2:3-4; Mt. 19:29)

Can I just say that this really hit home. I must admit, I’ve found myself guilty of fitting in my block of time the things that I want and leaving out God and the important things that really matter. It’s true when they say we make time for those things we really want to make time for. I really hope each day I get better and better at this. As far as the checkbook and area of finances go, this is what I hold onto most tightly. It’s soo easy to stress about finances and hold on to our checkbooks and not bless others with what we’ve been blessed with. Lord, please allow me to let go of this area and to give it completely over to you.

On a final note, tonight I am heading down to Tampa for a church conference called “Extraordinary Women”. Sounds awesome right? Tonight I’m going by myself and then tomorrow I have a friend coming with me. I typically wouldn’t go to these things alone, but for some reason I really feel I need to do this, and to do it alone. Please be praying, because I think the Lord might be up to something :o) There's an amazing line-up of people:

Julie Clinton

Candace Cameron-Bure (You've got to love DJ Tanner from Full House)

Natalie Grant (I'm so excited about her)

Michael O'Brien (Will be leading worship)

Stormie Omartian

Chonda Pierce (LOL is all I've got to say, haha)

Angela Thomas

Kathy Troccoli (I aboslutely LOVE her!!!!)

Rebecca Jo, you were the winner for the most creative name for my car. I LOVED "Flo" the Ford Focus. Please e-mail me at LaurenBella6@hotmail.com with your information so I can send you a little something :o)

And your comments yesterday just made my day. Thanks for all the encouragement and sweet prayers for my grandpa. Have a GREAT Friday everyone!!! :o)

Ohhh, I read Lady in Waiting before I got married too! I loved it! The thoughts and prayers you shared were so beautiful and I can relate to so much of what you said! Have a great time at the women's conference & enjoy that prize :o)!

I would hope that when I look back on my life that I can look back with great certainty that my purpose was served here on earth. That I loved God with my whole heart, loved people, and loved well. I love blessing others. It's much better to give then to receive. I know that there's an amazing God that loves me and will never leave me nor forsake me. There's alot of peace in that when this world can let us down. He's my constant, the one thing that remains the same in this ever changing life of mine. I look towards the future with great hope and expectancy. With hope that God has an amazing path for me, and just pray that my every step will be guided and directed by him as I walk this journey called life!

Thank you for coming by. My hope is that through this page you will find some kind of enjoyment and inspiration. Tell others about it and keep checking in. If you want to contact me my e-mail is LaurenBella6@hotmail.com :o)